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Mike Penner
Mike Penner (October 10, 1957 – November 27, 2009) was a sports writer for the Los Angeles Times. Penner self-identified as being transsexual in a 2007 column and returned from a vacation writing with the name Christine Daniels, before resuming his original name in 2008 and then committing suicide in 2009.Mike Penner dies at 52; Los Angeles Times sportswriter Los Angeles Times, November 29, 2009 Early life and education Born Michael Daniel PennerA writer's transformation makes the personal public Los Angeles Times, April 27, 2007 in Inglewood, California, Penner graduated from Western High School in Anaheim and from California State University, Fullerton. Professional career Penner began his journalism career at the Anaheim Bulletin as a writer and sports editor. He then joined the Los Angeles Times in 1983 as a staff writer for the paper's Orange County edition. Initially reporting on high school sports, Penner went on to cover a variety of national and international sporting events including the Olympics, Major League Baseball, tennis, and World Cup soccer. Writing about transsexuality Later in his career, in addition to covering sports, Penner also began writing about transsexual identity and the process of gender transition from an autobiographical perspective. The first such piece he wrote for the Times was an essay entitled "Old Mike, New Christine" that appeared in the paper in April 2007. In it, he wrote about his lifelong struggle to come to terms with his transsexuality: }} Mike Penner lived and wrote as Christine Daniels for more than a year, continuing to document his own experience with gender transition in the LA Times' blog "Woman in Progress." Daniels' writing became a source of hope for people across the country with gender-identity issues. Penner wrote as Christine Daniels from July 2007 until about March 2008; without elaboration, he resumed using Mike Penner as his byline in October 2008. Penner was a member of the Times' sports staff at the time of his death. Personal life Penner was at one time married to fellow Los Angeles Times sportswriter Lisa Dillman although at the time of her death they were divorced. Her announcement on April 26, 2007 column that she was transsexual and intended to return from a vacation as Christine Daniels. Penner was found dead in her Los Angeles home on November 28, 2009 of an apparent suicide. See also * List of transgender people Notes and references External links * Woman in Progress, Daniels' blog at latimes.com accessible as of October 21, 2008 * Mike Penner, "Old Mike, New Christine," Los Angeles Times, April 26, 2007. Also available here * Laura Coverson, "Sportswriter Takes Transgender Identity Public; Mike Penner of the L.A. Times Wrote a Column to Explain Some Changes, Including His New Name: Christine," ABC News, April 27, 2007. Also available here. * Yahoo story about Penner'' * ESPN article * Trans sports journalist raises visibility * John Woolard and Jay Christensen, Interview with Christine Daniels Sports Overnight America, May 4, 2007. Category:1957 births Category:2009 deaths Category:Deaths from suicide Category:People from California Category:Transgender and transsexual people Category:Transgender and transsexual women